1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data processing apparatuses and data processing methods, and more particularly, to a data processing apparatus and a data processing method in which a processing method by which input data is processed is learned in real time such that the input data is adaptively processed and output data obtained by the processing is improved as time elapses.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a structure of a conventional data processing apparatus.
The input data to be processed is sent to a determination section 91 and processing sections 921 to 92M. The processing sections 921 to 92M process the input data by processing methods different from each other and send to a selection section 93.
On the other hand, the determination section 91 controls the selection section 93 such that one of the outputs of the processing sections 921 to 92M is selected according to, for example, the amount of a feature extracted from the input data. The selection section 93 selects one of the outputs of the processing sections 921 to 92M according to the control of the determination section 93 and outputs as output data.
In other words, the processing sections 921 to 92M process the input data by the processing methods different from each other, the determination section 91 selects the most appropriate method among the processing methods of the processing sections 921 to 92M according to the amount of a feature of the input data, and the selection section 93 selects the processing result of the input data obtained by the selected processing method.
Therefore, in the data processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, when input data is image data and the processing sections 921 to 92M serve as filters having different tap coefficients for filtering the image data, for example, the determination section 91 determines among the processing sections 921 to 92M a filter having the tap coefficient which the designer of the data processing apparatus thinks most appropriate, according to the amount of a feature of the input data. The selection section 93 selects the result obtained when the determined filter filters the input data, as output data.
As described above, in the conventional data processing apparatus, the processing result of the filter having the tap coefficient which the designer of the data processing apparatus thinks most appropriate, among the processing sections 921 to 92M is selected. It is, however, not necessarily true that processing the input data by such a tap coefficient is appropriate for the input data.
In other words, in some cases, filtering with the use of a tap coefficient other than the tap coefficients which the processing sections 921 to 92M have is more appropriate for the input data, and as a result, output data improved more is obtained.